This year, the Benziger Family Winery received the first Endangered Species Coalition Champion Award for Land Stewardship. What exactly does such an award have to do with growing and making wine? Mike Benziger, founder of the winery, has grown into an industry leader by growing grapes and now going green by farming holistically with something called biodynamics.
The greening of the wine industry started in the early 1990’s at Benziger’s 85
acre estate in Glen Ellen.

Biodynamics is organic farming but at a much higher level involving the “healing” and replenishing as well as paying close attention to the environment around the vineyards. Benziger says doing a green makeover of his entire operation was a matter of survival if he wanted his land to be productive.

California Heartland’s Jennifer Harrison catches up with Mike Benziger and his crew on the last day of harvesting and discovers why biodynamics is key to
Keeping Benziger’s vineyard successful.